Marvin Ridge swimming again earns top honors

It didn’t take long for Marvin Ridge High’s swimming program to become the class of Union County, as the Mavericks had strong showings from its inception four years ago.

That trend continued this season, as the Mavericks again won the Southern ­Carolina 3A/4A conference meet, which was held Jan. 22 at Charlotte Latin School. It was the fourth consecutive conference championship for the girls team and the second straight for the boys.

Coach Laurie Lester said she was elated to see both teams emerge victorious, but she also noted she entered the meet with a great deal of confidence, especially since both squads won the Union County Championships for the fourth consecutive time earlier this month.

“I actually felt really good going in because our boys and girls are really strong,” she said.

The Marvin Ridge girls were flat-out dominant in the meet, winning eight of the 11 events. Jayne Glanton and ­Lauren Greenburg each won a pair of individual events: Glanton won the 200-yard freestyle in 2 minutes, 5.54 seconds, ­followed by a win in the 100 freestyle in 59.3 seconds. Greenburg notched wins in the 100 butterfly (1:00.7) and the 500 freestyle (5:13.89).

The Mavericks also swept the relays. The quartet of Miranda McGaha, ­Maggie Glanton, Greenburg and Michelle ­Lester were tops in the 200 medley relay (1:58.57). Maggie ­Glanton, Jayne Glanton and McGaha later teamed with Stephanie Cage to win the 200 freestyle relay (1:48.77). The ­Marvin Ridge girls capped the meet with a win in the 400 freestyle relay (3:57.51) powered by Michelle Lester, Jayne Glanton, ­Jacqueline Pennington and Greenburg.

Weddington also received some strong individual performances, capturing wins in the 200 individual medley (Katherine Plevka in 2:16.11), the 100 backstroke (Laura Carpenter in 1:05.29) and the 100 breastroke (Plevka in 1:11.61).

The Marvin Ridge girls outscored Weddington, 334-240, followed by ­Porter Ridge (192), Sun Valley (109) and Parkwood (60). Greenburg earned Girls Swimmer of the Year honors, while ­Porter Ridge’s Jessica Allen was named Girls Coach of the Year.

In the boys meet, Marvin Ridge again won eight events. Evan White claimed wins in the 100 freestyle (54.34) and the 100 backstroke (1:03.91). Lane ­Bretschneider, the conference’s Boys Swimmer of the Year, won the 100 breaststroke (1:05.62) and the 200 IM (2:03.75). Fellow Maverick Matthew Patetta also won gold, claiming the 500 freestyle (5:38.23). ­ Weddington’s Alex Biehl also won a pair of events, enjoying wins in the 100 butterfly (57.7) and the 200 freestyle (1:59.10). Porter Ridge’s Chuckie Hawes earned a win in the 50 freestyle (24.36).

As with the girls, the Marvin Ridge boys swept the relays. Patetta, Irwin Li, Jesse Claybo and Kyle Shirley won the 200 medley relay (1:56.23), while McKee Christiansen joined Shirley, White and Bretschneider to win the 200 freestyle relay (1:36.42). White, Christiansen, Bretschneider and Kyle Gallagher also won the 400 freestyle relay (3:40.66), which concluded an impressive performance for the Maverick boys, who outscored second-place Porter Ridge, 334-165. Sun Valley was third (161), followed by Weddington (86) and Parkwood (71).